Some 200,000 parents need to ‘get off their backsides’ to ensure that they receive the right amount of child benefit, HMRC has warned, as unions criticised the policy for being ‘complicated and confusing’.

Waiting for the taxman to pick up the phone cost customers £136million in lost time and call charges. Some 20million calls to HM Revenue and Customs 0845 number from people trying to get help with their tax returns were not picked up at all. In the first quarter of this year, 6.5million people were left […]